2011 Playoffs: (4) Thunder Vs. (5) Nuggets

First Western Conference match-up to be made official. Would be tempted to pick Denver over any team but the Thunder, but alas, Oklahoma City has had their number and has been playing even better since the break. OKC in 6 hard-fought games.

I'm probably being a little optimistic, but I picked Thunder in 5. They did win the season series 3-1 though.

Perkins against Nene will be one to watch. Things got a bit physical between them in the recent couple of games.

6 brutal games for the Thunder. Post-Carmelo Nuggets plays D! But they don't have the star players that OKC has in Durant and Westbrook.

By far the best series in the West of the first round, IMO.

Why? Two of them are mismatches and the other one involves JJ Barea.

Nuggets in 7

Thunder in 6 as well. It should be a great series, but Denver lacks a guy who can put the team on his back and just go nuts-out and win. Oklahoma have 2 of those guys.

It should be a great series, and its the only series of the first round that will involve any overtime periods, but the Thunder are just too strong.

I'll also go with the Thunder in six but wouldn't be too surprised if they can get the job done in five. I also agree that this should be a fun series, the game the other day was a pretty good one and as noted there's clearly no love lost between Perkins and Nene.

The players I'll be watching for in this series are Serge Ibaka and James Harden. They've both upped their games since the Perkins trade.

Also something that went under the radar with all of Rose's MVP coverage, Durant just won his second consecutive scoring title.

Sure, another 7 game series, Thunder wins it though.

As much as I hate to say it, I think the Thunder in 5... maybe 6 if Denver play well. It's going to be a great series however it pans out.

My favorite matchup in the West! I'd say Thunder in 6, but I'll think they can do it with five games.

Thunder in 7. Credit the Nugget's resiliency after the Melo trade. But still, I want OKC on the 2nd round.

OKC in 6 as well. Wanna see the Nene-Perkins fights.

Have to agree with the majority, Thunder in 6. The Nuggets are a very tough team at home, plus their bench is deep.

Thunder in 6.

In a recent game OKC vs DEN, the Thunder came out on top somewhat convincingly. With Perkins's toughness, I think OKC will survive this one.

OKC in 6 as well.

AH, crap! Wanted to see Dallas, Portland, OKC, and Denver in the second round! Hate to see Denver go this way. OKC in 7!

Thunder take game 1. Durant with 41 points, Westbrook had 31.

missed call in crunch time. terrible.

As I said in the Celtics/Knicks threads, it's a shame when there are questionable calls in crunch time because it does kind of mar the outcome and leave fans feeling that the result isn't on the level and that justice wasn't done. Once again however, if you want to win games then you don't want to be in a position to have them decided by a call late in the game. Calls like that are always going to stand out because of the timing but if you go back through the game and correct all the missed calls on both sides that are just as egregious, a missed offensive goaltending call with 1:06 remaining might not actually be so important.

Nuggets in game 7.

This series might not even get to 6! The Thunder are making the Nuggets look like fools! I pity Lawson.

Why pity him? This series might not end up being particularly kind to the Nuggets but with the way they've been able to assemble a roster with some young, talented players along with a few additional draft picks in the wake of trading Carmelo Anthony, they've got a promising future which Lawson is likely to be a big part of.

I pity puttin.

I pity Lawson, who is one of my favorite players, because his team may be swept by the Thunder, one of my favorite teams.